Sam Taylor – Washington Free Beaconhttps://freebeacon.com
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 15:01:01 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.5402751Cuba Exchanges ‘Intelligence Asset’ for Three Spies He Helped Imprisonhttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/cuba-exchanges-intelligence-asset-for-three-spies-he-helped-imprison/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/cuba-exchanges-intelligence-asset-for-three-spies-he-helped-imprison/#respondWed, 17 Dec 2014 20:12:30 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=372022In a statement released by the U.S. Department of State Wednesday, the Director of National Intelligence detailed the heroic actions of a "Cuban individual" who aided the Defense Intelligence Agency in disrupting a number of Cuban intelligence operatives in the United States.

]]>In a statement released by the U.S. Department of State Wednesday, the Director of National Intelligence detailed the heroic actions of a "Cuban individual" who aided the Defense Intelligence Agency in disrupting a number of Cuban intelligence operatives in the United States.

Today, the United States secured the release of a Cuban individual from a Cuban prison who provided critical assistance to the United States. Information provided by this person was instrumental in the identification and disruption of several Cuban intelligence operatives in the United States and ultimately led to a series of successful federal espionage prosecutions.

This man, whose sacrifices were known only to a few, has spent nearly 20 years in a Cuban prison due to his efforts on behalf of the United States. While many details of this individual’s cooperation remain classified, with his release today we can now discuss some of his contributions to U.S. national security.

The information obtained from this individual eventually led to the convictions of Ana Belén Montes–who was arrested for espionage in 2001 while working as a senior analyst for the DIA–and former State Department official Walter Kendall Myers who, along with his wife Gwendolyn, had provided intelligence to the Cuban government for more than 30 years.

The statement praised the sacrifice of the "Cuban individual"–who spent nearly 20 years behind bars–and heralded the ‘closure' of a chapter in U.S.-Cuban relations:

In light of his sacrifice on behalf of the United States, securing his release from prison after 20 years–in a swap for three of the Cuban spies he helped put behind bars–is fitting closure to this Cold World chapter of U.S.-Cuban relations.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/cuba-exchanges-intelligence-asset-for-three-spies-he-helped-imprison/feed/0Islamic State, Assad Dancing Around Each Other on Battlefieldhttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/islamic-state-assad-dancing-around-each-other-on-battlefield/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/islamic-state-assad-dancing-around-each-other-on-battlefield/#respondThu, 11 Dec 2014 19:06:22 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=369433A new report released by Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center shows that the majority of the Islamic State's military activities in Syria have focused on non-governmental opposition groups, while only a small percentage have targeted the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

]]>A report released by Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center shows that the majority of the Islamic State's military activities in Syria have focused on non-governmental opposition groups, while only a small percentage have targeted the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

According to an NBC analysis of the JTIC data, which was gathered from the beginning of 2014 until November 21, approximately 64 percent of IS (commonly called ISIS or ISIL) attacks have targeted opposition parties including Jabhat al-Nusra and the Free Syrian Army–but only 13 percent targeted the Assad regime.

Meanwhile in Iraq, more than 50 percent of IS attacks have focused on decimating Iraqi security forces.

"In Syria, it's a different situation because you have such a proliferation of competing, non-state armed groups in the country in addition to Assad," JTIC head Matthew Henman said.

Henman said both IS and the Assad regime have engaged in the "clever strategy" of "ignoring" one another.

In an interview with Paris Match on November 28, Assad dismissed the notion that IS was being propped up by his regime in order to discredit the opposition:

In Syria we have a state, not a regime. Let’s agree on the terms first.

Second, assuming that what you are saying is true, that we supported ISIS, this means that we have asked this organization to attack us, attack military airports, kill hundreds of soldiers, and occupy cities and villages.

Where is the logic in that? What do we gain from it? Dividing and weakening the opposition, as you are saying? We do not need to undermine those elements of the opposition. The West itself is saying that it was a fake opposition. This is what Obama himself said.

So, this supposition is wrong, but what is the truth? The truth is that ISIS was created in Iraq in 2006. It was the United States which occupied Iraq, not Syria. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was in American prisons, not in Syrian prisons.

So, who created ISIS, Syria or the United States?

The Assad regime, for its part, has targeted IS militants even less frequently than IS has targeted the Assad regime. The JTIC data shows that during the same period, only six percent of the regime's airstrikes have directly targeted IS. In Aleppo, now an IS stronghold, only 14 percent of airstrikes targeted IS. Even in IS's self-declared "capital" of ar-Raqqa, only half of the airstrikes targeted IS.

"Most of the front lines between ISIS and the regime are very quiet—you wouldn't even hear the sound of firing," Yusuf Abu Abdullah, an opposition fighter from the Al-Mujahideen Army, told NBC. "The exact opposite is on our front lines, which are very dangerous and where the fights don't stop for 24 hours."

The long game, according to Aleppine IS leader Abu Hafs, is to conquer rebel areas before taking on the Assad regime.

"We are not ignoring the Syrian regime but we are focusing on the rebel areas," Hafs told NBC. "You can't jump to step two. You have to do the first step first. To fight successfully against Bashar Assad's regime, we must first take over the rebel areas."

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/islamic-state-assad-dancing-around-each-other-on-battlefield/feed/0Islamic State Twitterati Use Senate Intelligence Report to Accuse U.S. of Terrorism, Recruit More Terroristshttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/islamic-state-twitterati-use-senate-intelligence-report-to-accuse-u-s-of-terrorism-recruit-more-terrorists/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/islamic-state-twitterati-use-senate-intelligence-report-to-accuse-u-s-of-terrorism-recruit-more-terrorists/#respondTue, 09 Dec 2014 22:23:59 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=368287On Tuesday, following the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on CIA interrogation techniques, supporters of the Islamic State and other terror groups took to Twitter to decry the United States with the hashtag #Torture_Report, posting excerpts of stories in order to encourage violence against the U.S. and Western nations.

]]>On Tuesday, following the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on CIA interrogation techniques, supporters of the Islamic State and other terror groups took to Twitter to decry the United States with the hashtag #Torture_Report, posting excerpts of stories in order to encourage violence against the U.S. and Western nations.

Despite repeated warnings from U.S. politicians and security officials, the report was released shortly before noon on Tuesday and, after a few hours of combing through the 528-page report, jihadist Twitter users and IS supporters began using episodes of CIA "torture" to both accuse the U.S. of terrorism and incite marginalized Muslims to wage violent resistance against America and its allies in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

One Twitter user from Algeria, Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, summed up the attitude of global jihadists after the report's release:

One thing we can be certain of. That report has endangered the lives of every American for years to come. Jihadis will not forget this stuff

One user, Fahad Al Juhani (whose Twitter profile suggests he is eager for the ‘day of judgement'), berated the U.S. for its "murderous" activities and suggested that this report was only a small part of the bigger picture: "This is the tip of the iceberg! What #America has practiced in bombing civilians and supporting dictatorships is more of a crime #torture_report #congress_report."

This tweet from Abu Bakr #Caliph (undoubtedly a reference to IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi) urges outraged Muslims to curb-stomp their offenders: "From now on when someone accuses your Muslim brother of terrrorism, stick the #torture_report on the heel of your shoe and shove it in his mouth."

The Twitter user Mus'ab al-Iraqi justified torture of Americans: "The #torture_report says that torture was necessary to prevent possible attacks, I hope for reciprocity and we say that torture was necessary to prevent American attacks."

Before deleting this tweet, Twitter user Musaed urged: "Every Muslim should check out these American crimes, the same needs to happen to them with Jihad, at least, or the #Islamic_State will claim them #torture_report #congress_report."

IS supporters also used the Senate Intelligence Committee report, and the journalistic reports it spawned, to identify countries that aided the U.S. in gathering intelligence from captured terrorists. This Twitter user, Alahmawlana, posted a map from The Guardian and used it as an informational bulletin for jihadists seeking revenge against countries that work with U.S. intelligence agencies: "List of countries that facilitated or incubated detention facilities for the American intelligence apparatus. #torture_report."

Shirkuh even used an alleged report of rape to incite followers against Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah for cooperating with the U.S., using a vulgar reference (note, ‘gheerah' means ‘jealousy'):

Hey Murjiah your King AbDollar allowed the butt rape of muslim men!! Do you have any gheerah yet or did you lose that like your manhood? — Asad ad-Dīn Shīrkūh (@alwalaawalbara) December 9, 2014

Al-Iraqi used the report to point out the hypocrisy of America and the West, and issued an ominous warning for America: "The #torture_report revealed that human rights are the biggest lie that the West raises over the Muslims, and they are reserved especially for the infidels only, not human rights. After today, an eye for an eye."

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/islamic-state-twitterati-use-senate-intelligence-report-to-accuse-u-s-of-terrorism-recruit-more-terrorists/feed/0Iranian Supreme Leader Spokesman: Obama ‘Knocking On Every Door’ to Meet Iranian Presidenthttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/iranian-supreme-leader-spokesman-obama-knocking-on-every-door-to-meet-iranian-president/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/iranian-supreme-leader-spokesman-obama-knocking-on-every-door-to-meet-iranian-president/#respondMon, 08 Dec 2014 22:02:33 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=367894The post Iranian Supreme Leader Spokesman: Obama ‘Knocking On Every Door’ to Meet Iranian President appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
]]>Mohammad Golpayegani, head of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei's office, announced to Iran's official broadcast channel IRINN that President Obama was "knocking on every door" to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a statement on November 30.

"When you see the American president knocking on every door just to meet our president for a few minutes, this is no trivial matter," Golpayegani said.

Golpayegani also noted that while Obama feels other world leaders are beneath him, he goes to great lengths to reach out to Rouhani.

"Some people lurk in the UN corridors just to get the chance to shake (Obama's) hand, and he does not even deign to do that," Golpayegani said. "Yet he sends mediators and goes to such efforts (in order to meet Rouhani). This demonstrates our strength."

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/iranian-supreme-leader-spokesman-obama-knocking-on-every-door-to-meet-iranian-president/feed/0Brad Sherman: State Dep’t Should Hire Islamic Scholars to Combat IS Ideologyhttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/brad-sherman-state-dept-should-hire-islamic-scholars-to-combat-is-ideology/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/brad-sherman-state-dept-should-hire-islamic-scholars-to-combat-is-ideology/#respondWed, 03 Dec 2014 14:10:52 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=365962The post Brad Sherman: State Dep’t Should Hire Islamic Scholars to Combat IS Ideology appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
]]>Congressman Brad Sherman (D., Calif.) said the U.S. State Department has enough lawyers, but needs more experts in Islamic jurisprudence to combat the ideology of the Islamic State.

On Tuesday, Sherman told a congressional hearing that the U.S. should hire Muslim theologians and experts in Shari'a law to help reduce the threat of worldwide terror.

Sherman backed up his statements during an interview with Al Jazeera America's Antonio Mora on Tuesday night.

"We have the outreach–what we don't have is the research," Sherman said. "Keep in mind, the State Department has a thousand lawyers. I think they ought to hire one or two experts in Islamic jurisprudence, whether they be practicing Muslims or others who have the expertise.

"It's not enough to say, ‘look at what ISIS did, they beheaded somebody, it's evil.'"

Sherman stressed the need to find Islamic–rather than secular or humanitarian–justifications against the brutality of the Islamic State to appeal to Muslims worldwide, particularly in the West, who are susceptible to recruitment via social media.

Sherman said this would involve employing established Muslim scholars who can justify opposition to IS with passages from the Quran and the Hadith–the collections of teachings, sayings, and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

"One must be able to turn to the Quran, to turn to the Hadith and show how ISIS is making a mockery of a great world religion," Sherman said. "You cannot appeal to Islamic jurists unless you can cite Hadith, unless you can cite Quran, unless you can do all the things you would do in working before any other jurists anywhere in the world.

"You need legal expertise to get the Islamic legal scholars to be on our side."

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/brad-sherman-state-dept-should-hire-islamic-scholars-to-combat-is-ideology/feed/0White House Shoots Down Petition to Declare Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organizationhttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/white-house-shoots-down-petition-to-declare-muslim-brotherhood-a-terrorist-organization/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/white-house-shoots-down-petition-to-declare-muslim-brotherhood-a-terrorist-organization/#respondMon, 01 Dec 2014 20:28:55 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=363883The White House officially rejected a 'We the People' petition calling for the U.S. Government to declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization after more than a year and 200,000 signatures.

We have not seen credible evidence that the Muslim Brotherhood has renounced its decades-long commitment to non-violence.

The United States does not condone political violence of any kind and we continue to press actors of all viewpoints to peacefully engage in the political process. The United States is committed to thwarting terrorist groups that pose a threat to U.S. interests and those of our partners.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 and has since spawned the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and supported Islamist parties in Egypt, Tunisia, Kuwait and other Middle Eastern nations. Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group in 2014.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/white-house-shoots-down-petition-to-declare-muslim-brotherhood-a-terrorist-organization/feed/0Islamic State Terrorists Vow to ‘Purify’ Kobani of Kurds in New Propaganda Videohttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/islamic-state-terrorists-vow-to-purify-kobani-of-kurds-in-new-propaganda-video/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/islamic-state-terrorists-vow-to-purify-kobani-of-kurds-in-new-propaganda-video/#respondMon, 01 Dec 2014 17:51:06 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=363538Islamic State militants released a new propaganda video Sunday in which the terrorist group claimed to have raided and established control over the Mursitpinar border crossing between Turkey and Syria near the town of Kobani.

]]>Islamic State militants released a new propaganda video Sunday in which the terrorist group claimed to have raided and established control over the Mursitpinar border crossing between Turkey and Syria near the town of Kobani.

The footage, released by the ar-Raqqa media wing of IS, depicts the group's militants roaming the town, shooting machine guns at unidentified targets, and destroying buildings and other infrastructure in and around Kobani, which they call "Ayn al-Islam" (‘Spring of Islam,’ a play on its former name, ‘Spring of the Arabs’).

"We will not give up control over the areas courted by the Kurdish parties," a masked IS militant said from the passenger seat of his vehicle. "And, by God's permission, we will purify Ayn Al-Islam of the Kurdish parties, and the supporters of the PKK, and the supporters of the Peshmerga, and all of the Free Syrian Army."

The masked militant then spoke to President Obama directly, calling the United States the "base of injustice" and claiming that paradise awaits those killed in coalition airstrikes.

"So as the airplanes gather in number, so too does the judge (God) gather a number of promises for God's fallen soldiers, for God is the greatest," the masked militant said.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/islamic-state-terrorists-vow-to-purify-kobani-of-kurds-in-new-propaganda-video/feed/0FBI Bulletin Warns of Islamic State Terrorist Attacks Targeting Homeland Military Communityhttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/fbi-bulletin-warns-of-islamic-state-terrorist-attacks-targeting-homeland-military-community/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/fbi-bulletin-warns-of-islamic-state-terrorist-attacks-targeting-homeland-military-community/#respondMon, 01 Dec 2014 12:54:11 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=363481The post FBI Bulletin Warns of Islamic State Terrorist Attacks Targeting Homeland Military Community appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
]]>The FBI issued a strong warning to U.S. military personnel Sunday, urging current and former members of the military to review their social media accounts and exercise "operational security" online to avoid tracking by the Islamic State.

ABC reported that the intelligence bulletin, issued by the FBI and DHS overnight, recommended "current and former members of the military review their online social media accounts for any information that might serve to attract the attention of ISIL and its supporters."

ABC’s Brian Ross said that some members of the U.S. Special Forces "already have deactivated Facebook and other social media accounts" in light of the increased threat.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/fbi-bulletin-warns-of-islamic-state-terrorist-attacks-targeting-homeland-military-community/feed/0Disgraced Anti-Israel Professor Cheered in Washingtonhttps://freebeacon.com/culture/disgraced-anti-israel-professor-cheered-in-washington/
https://freebeacon.com/culture/disgraced-anti-israel-professor-cheered-in-washington/#respondTue, 25 Nov 2014 18:00:35 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=362392Former Virginia Tech professor Steven Salaita received a standing ovation from Middle East scholars and academics from around the world on Saturday afternoon.

"Thank you, every body. If the Zionists wanted to silence me, they should have just approached people to be nice to me," Salaita said. "Kindness always leaves me much more speechless than war crimes do."

Salaita said his firing—which he attributed to "the interference of wealthy donors"—was "part of the culture wars that have long been ongoing around the Israel-Palestine conflict" and could not be separated from "the organized suppression of those who speak in support of Palestine or Palestinians."

The opening MESA panel, entitled "The Salaita Case and the New Assaults on Academic Freedom," had a simple message: Academics should not be silenced or intimidated simply because their views are unpopular or "uncivil."

University of California Santa Barbara professor Lisa Hajjar spoke about the "chilling effects of the new discourse of civility," asserting that "while civility and the exercise of free speech may coexist harmoniously, the right to free speech not only permits but is designed to protect uncivil speech."

The panelists did not address the fact that the very speech they were defending demanded that pro-Israel speech be stifled in certain cases. The panelists suggested that those who express views in support of Israel or its policies have no place in any discourse, civil or otherwise, that takes place in American academia.

Here are some of the tweets that were part of the decision to terminate Salaita's contract:

Let's cut to the chase: If you're defending #Israel right now you're an awful human being.

At this point, if Netanyahu appeared on TV with a necklace made from the teeth of Palestinian children, would anybody be surprised? #Gaza — Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 20, 2014

Salaita—while being honored as a free speech hero—made comments at Saturday's meeting that suggested that those who disagreed with him were disqualified from playing any legitimate role in academic debate.

"If you support the colonial apparatus in the West Bank and Gaza and inside Israel itself, quite frankly, you don’t get to call yourself progressive," Salaita said. "I am a critic of the state of Israel, I am a critic of Zionism, I do not shy away from either label. I’m proud to have both of those labels."

Salaita also contradicted his own disavowal of "colonialist tropes," which he says are used to justify Israeli aggression against the Palestinian population.

"‘They’ve made us violent’ seemed to be the moral rationalization—which is a trope that’s as old as colonialism itself," Salaita said. "‘We came into this process through rapport, we encountered the natives, all of a sudden the natives’ lack of morals has turned us violent in ways we never could have imagined.'"

Salaita employed almost identical logic in lambasting Israel during the 2014 Gaza conflict:

If it's "antisemitic" to deplore colonization, land theft, and child murder, then what choice does any person of conscience have? #Gaza — Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 20, 2014

This is not a conflict between #Israel and "Hamas." It's a struggle by an Indigenous people against a colonial power. #Gaza#FreePalestine

‘Jihadnik' professor Lisa Hajjar discussed the "waves of organized, partisan, right-wing disciplined activities" on college campuses that expose anti-Semitism and implicit justification of terrorism against Jews in Israel.

"Among the tactics they use are surveillance of faculty, students, and activists," Hajjar said. "They engage in various forms of censorship, they send spies into classrooms, they video tape or audio tape, they engage in campaigns targeting administrators, alumni, boards of trustees, etcetera."

Hajjar insisted that it was not only possible but a duty for professors with tenure and "expertise" to expose the tactics of "non-campus organizations" to university administrators.

"All of us, and especially those who are more empowered with the security of tenure or full professorship and those of us who are knowledgeable about these issues need to speak out," she said.

"The disgrace that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign now suffers as a result of this behavior toward Steve Salaita should be a warning to administrators, and it’s our job to take that warning message to them, and then stand with them when they push back against these groups that seek to infringe upon our rights," she continued.

One audience member claimed that economics professors cannot publish research on Palestine because "the Zionist penetration in economics departments is so deep."

The panel and its sponsor, MESA, circulated a resolution to support a number of measures it says would bolster "academic freedom."

]]>https://freebeacon.com/culture/disgraced-anti-israel-professor-cheered-in-washington/feed/0Palestinians Celebrate In The Streets After Synagogue Terror Attackhttps://freebeacon.com/issues/palestinians-celebrate-in-the-streets-after-synagogue-terror-attack/
https://freebeacon.com/issues/palestinians-celebrate-in-the-streets-after-synagogue-terror-attack/#respondTue, 18 Nov 2014 19:42:25 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=359533In response to the gruesome axe murder of four worshippers, including three Americans, at a Jerusalem synagogue today, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank erupted in spontaneous celebrations.

In response to the gruesome axe murder of four worshippers, including three Americans, at a Jerusalem synagogue Tuesday, Palestinians in Gaza Strip and West Bank erupted in spontaneous celebrations.

A cousin of the attackers said, "We got the usual death notification and we shouted with joy, people here also handed out candies to guests who came to visit and were happy for the martyrs." He added: "Praise God. For a person to die as a martyr is a great thing."

Shortly after the attacks, multiple images surfaced showing masked Palestinians handing out sweets, holding up signs of the two murderers (who they hailed as ‘martyrs'), and celebrating the attack in the streets of Rafah in the Gaza Strip:

A masked Palestinian distributes sweets as he celebrates with others an attack on a Jerusalem synagogue, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a meat cleaver and a gun killed four people in a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday before being shot dead by police, the deadliest such incident in six years in the holy city amid a surge in religious conflict / Reuters

Masked Palestinians hold axes and a gun as they celebrate with others an attack on a Jerusalem synagogue, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a meat cleaver and a gun killed four people in a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday before being shot dead by police, the deadliest such incident in six years in the holy city amid a surge in religious conflict / Reuters

A masked Palestinian distributes sweets as he celebrates with others an attack on a Jerusalem synagogue, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip / Reuters

A Palestinian woman scatters sweets as she celebrates with others an attack on a Jerusalem synagogue, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a meat cleaver and a gun killed four people in a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday before being shot dead by police, the deadliest such incident in six years in the holy city amid a surge in religious conflict / Reuters